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Produced by Silverback for National Geographic UK, directed by Charlie Hamilton James and with Jeff Wilson taking producer credits, “Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story,” won Wildscreen Festival’s Golden Panda for best production, as well as Panda Awards for producer/director and scripted narrative.

Other Panda Award winners included BBC Studios’ ‘Wild Isles: Ocean’ (cinematography), Nat Geo-Wildstar’s ‘Queens’ (best series and production management team), Juli-Perpetuo’s ‘Patrol’ (impact), BBC Studios’ ‘The Watches 2023 (sustainability) and Netflix’s Chimp Empire (editing and music).

“Billy & Molly” had its world premiere at Match’s South by Southwest and recently secured six nominations in the 9th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards. Producer Jeff Wilson said he originally pitched the doc to Nat Geo as a Mary Poppins-style story in which an otter sheds light into a man’s world and makes the world a better place.

Taking place in Bristol,...

For a company as renowned for its family friendly product as Disney, it has a history of scenes or sequences that are horrifying (if not outright depressing) – Mufasa getting trampled by the wildebeests, Bambi’s mother disappearing into the forest and pretty much everything that happens in “Pinocchio.” (Not to mention live-action atrocities like the end of “Old Yeller” and the beginning of “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.”) But nothing can prepare you for how sobering and deeply unsettling Disneynature’s “Polar Bear” is.

“Polar Bear” is very much like other Disneynature entries that came before it (things like “Dolphin Reef” or “Penguins”) – it’s beautifully shot, featuring moments you never thought you’d seen (like when a beached whale becomes an unlikely polar bear pool party) and has top notch narration (this time courtesy of Catherine Keener). But in other ways it’s more somber and introspective; the narration is first-person,...

Disneynature’s Polar Bear – Photo by Florian Ledoux. ©2022 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

To commemorate Earth Day, Disney+ invites its viewers to embark on an adventure in a faraway land. Now, with warmer temps in the near future, you might think that you’ll be virtually basking in the sun, perhaps on a white island beach, or trekking through a lush jungle. Well, that’s not the plan as these talented filmmakers follow the remarkable life of a pretty remarkable and resilient creature. And the weather does play a big part in this film, you might even consider it another character. That’s because of its now radically changing aspects, forcing the title animal to go to more creative and extreme links to survive. that’s because it is now tougher than ever to be a Polar Bear.

It begins with a mother and daughter “ice bear” on the move,...

It’s another huge week for TV. This undoubtedly has to do with the deadline on Emmy nominations coming at the end of May, as the amount of heavily hyped prestige series (either return or brand new) is increasing to the point of critical mass. Just this week alone, we have the long-overdue return of “Better Call Saul,” “Russian Doll” and “The Flight Attendant,” plus a new show where huge stars get to play “The First Lady.” And documentaries documenting the life of polar bears, the career of Magic Johnson and how racist and weird Abercrombie & Fitch is. Truly, this is a golden age.

On with the television!

“Better Call Saul”

Monday, April 18 at 9 p.m., AMC

Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

It’s been almost two years since the previous season of “Better Call Saul,” Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould’s sharp-as-a-knife prequel series to their beloved “Breaking Bad.

A new Disneynature documentary from directors Alastair Fothergill and Jeff Wilson — they also collaborated on the studio’s bless-the-beasts-and children docs Monkey Kingdom and Chimpanzee — Penguins puts the focus on Steve, an Adélie penguin coming of age during a freezing Antarctic spring. Yup, there is a cute overload; penguins are as adorable as hell. Steve’s 100-mile journey from his natural ocean habitat to the breeding grounds on shore does not skimp on trials and travails, which include nest building and making a life for himself. It’s no easy ride.

Disney’s first Fox release under the combined regime, the faith-based DeVon Franklin produced Breakthrough notched second place in its opening day yesterday with an estimated $1.7M at 2,764 runs behind New Line/DC’s Shazam! which took No. 1 in his second Wednesday with $1.96M for a running total of $101.5M in its 13th day of release.

Disneynature also bowed in limited release their Penguins documentary from directors Alastair Fothergill and Jeff Wilson with the pic notching tenth place with an estimated $494K at 1,815. Both Warner Bros. and Disney will report their figures later this morning. Both Breakthrough and Penguins earned A CinemaScores, which is pretty standard for a faith-based film and a Disneynature doc.

Universal’s Little took third place on Wednesday with $1M from 2,667, -51% from Tuesday.

Yesterday there were 21% K-12 schools off and 4% colleges per ComScore,...

Chicago – It is the tenth anniversary of Disneynature, the arm of Walt Disney Pictures that releases a new nature doc around every Earth Day. This year the naturally visual interest of “Penguins” are their subject, and the film does a nice job on the life cycle journey of these fascinating flightless birds.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Although like every Disneynature film, the need to name the animals in nature (thus applying an outside human trait) is always questionable, but following an Adélie species Penguin that they have dubbed “Steve” works beautifully here. The inherent natural journey of winter-to-spring that these lovely creatures indulge in is well documented, and comic actor Ed Helms does some non-intrusive but entertaining narration to add spice to the educating … he often becomes Steve in voice and manner, yet it’s never over the top. This works best with kids, but adults will probably learn as much.

As narrated by Helms,...

Through breathtaking photography and compelling storytelling that is grounded in reality, Disneynature’s Penguins, opening in U.S. theaters today, transports audiences to Antarctica to go on a journey with Steve, an Adélie penguin who sets out to build a suitable nest, find a life partner and start a family. Despite punishing weather conditions and predators that include killer whales and leopard seals, Steve’s quest is relatable to modern audiences who will empathize with the first-time father as he navigates parenthood with nothing to go on but instinct.

Penguins, the eighth theatrical release from Disneynature, continues a legacy that dates back to Walt Disney himself. The 28-minute-long documentary Seal Island was the first of 13 True-Life Adventures to be produced by Walt between 1948 and 1960. The films won eight Academy Awards® following their theatrical debuts, and continued to captivate viewers as they were later featured on The Wonderful World of Disney or screened in elementary schools.

With Spring finally pushing aside the remnants of Winter, what better time to head to the multiplex to check out a feature documentary about this season…set in Antartica. Well, at least its denizens seem to be enjoying those “balmy” 32 degree days. One particular group of them is the focus of Disney subsidary label Disneynature’s thirteen feature film in just over ten years (looks like they share a birthday with Marvel Studios). Like 2012’s Chimpamzee the wildlife filmmakers don’t neglect their animale neighbors while zeroing in on a singular subject representing his species. And like those jungle cut-ups, these creatures are pretty amusing, too. There are lots of laughs, mixed with romance and danger, in observing Penguins.

The singular subject in question is affable everyman Steve, a young Adelie penguin who’s a two foot tall ball of energy. In the film’s opening moments, Steve hilariously wadlles...

For the first time since 2014, Easter won’t have a huge multi-quadrant event film opening and dominating this weekend, and as we explained last week, that’s due to Disney dating Avengers: Endgame on the calendar next Friday.

The Russo Brothers-directed Marvel film is expected to be one of the five highest grossing pictures of all-time, not adjusted for inflation, and as such rival studios have opted to hold back any tentpoles over this lucrative holiday weekend when kids are off from school, and not play in front of Endgame. Instead studios are pushing out non event titles, geared at one or two demos. This despite the fact that the theatrical marketplace has demonstrated many times that two event pictures can perform simultaneously, even outside of summer. According to ComScore 74% K-12 schools and 29% colleges are on break Good Friday, moving respectively to 37% and 8% by Monday.

New Line will wind up...

Title: ‘Penguins’ Directors: Alastair Fothergill (Disneynature’s ‘Monkey Kingdom’ and ‘Bears’) and Jeff Wilson Embarking on a quest to find a life partner, build a suitable home together and start a family is an alluring dream that not only humans strive to achieve. In the upcoming Disneynature documentary, ‘Penguins,’ which Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is […]

The post Disneynature’s Penguins Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Before Disney wraps up the third phase of its blockbuster Marvel Cinematic Universe later this summer, the studio has yet another long-running series to keep building out. Sandwiched alongside all those superhero movies, that “Star Wars” franchise, a growing list of live-action remakes, and a continued interest in their Disney Princess films, Disneynature has quietly churned out over a dozen nature documentaries since its inception over a decade ago.

In a crowded House of Mouse, they remain some of the best bets the studio has to offer, uniting entrainment and education in an appealing package. With “Penguins,” frequent Disneynature filmmaker Alastair Fothergill and franchise newbie Jeff Wilson are working in a more minor key than such essential entries as “Chimpanzee” and “African Cats,” but the artistry and relative magic of the series is still on full display.

Every Disneynature film needs a hero to lead it, and for the purpose of their latest feature,...